ALWAGHT- Fifteen crew members of the Iranian merchant vessel Touska, which was seized by the United States under Washington's unlawful naval blockade of the Islamic Republic, have arrived back home via Pakistan.
The crew members were transferred to Pakistan for repatriation and entered Iran on Monday through the Rimdan border terminal in Sistan and Baluchestan province. US forces attacked and seized the Touska in the Gulf of Oman on April 1, detaining its 28 crew members and claiming the ship had violated Washington's so-called naval blockade.
Six crew members had been released earlier, while seven others remain in Pakistan. ABC News reported on Sunday, citing CENTCOM, that procedures have also begun to return the vessel to its owner. Iran has strongly condemned the blockade and pledged not to rejoin US talks as long as it persists, calling the seizure of several Iranian vessels an act of piracy. Tehran says it reserves the right to take defensive countermeasures, with President Donald Trump having admitted that the US Navy acts "like pirates" in enforcing the blockade.
